


Secret

by ebonyandunicorn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Best Friends, Coming Out, Friendship, Platonic Cuddling, Poe Dameron Is A Mess, Poe is a Wise-Ass, Poe is a big loser who is in love with his cute smuggler boss, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Spice Runners of Kijimi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, The First Order is homophobic because of course, We Reject Your Enforced Cinematic Heterosexuality, Zorii has no time for anyone's shit, Zorii is a Bad-Ass, everyone is gay and nothing hurts, they are both very gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:48:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21999229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonyandunicorn/pseuds/ebonyandunicorn
Summary: A deeper look into the relationship between Poe Dameron and Zorii Bliss.It's not what you think.(Or: in which Poe and Zorii are keeping the same secret from each other and the rest of the galaxy.)(Or: it's what everybody is thinking, and everyone is gay and nothing hurts.)
Relationships: Zorii Bliss & Poe Dameron
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Content warning: mention of homophobia.  
> Mild TRoS spoilers (character, not plot).  
> Stormpilot compatible, though set pre-TFA.  
> In canon, Zorii is the leader of the Spice Runners. This fic is set prior to her attaining the leadership. 
> 
> ANYWAY I just love these characters and their (entirely platonic) relationship a lot and there will be a lot of stormpilot/zorey fic incoming so here is the scene-setting for those wonderful future queer drabbles! Enjoy!

**Bryx Sector, Mid Rim**

In the cockpit of the _Reveler_ , his feet resting up beside the controls, Poe Dameron chuckled to himself. The unlucky gamblers of the Piizo Outpost swoop circuit would be licking their wounds after that race for a long time. The Spice Runners, by contrast, were rolling in their winnings. Judging by the raucous noises emanating from the cargo hold, they’d already opened one of the more potent crates. 

“Dameron!” Bax ‘Captain’ Weckhart, the charismatic leader of the Spice Runners of Kijimi, stumbled into the cockpit, catching himself on the empty co-pilot’s chair with an unsteady hand. “You lightspeed-skipping bastard! I knew you were a hell of a pilot, but you never said you could race swoops! That was friggin’ brilliant!” 

Poe grinned up at Bax. “Yeah, well, I’m a man of many hidden talents.” 

“I’m beginning to see that.” Bax leaned a hand heavily on Poe’s shoulder, although whether it was a show of support or to support himself in his intoxicated state was not quite clear. “Ten thousand credits and two _dozen_ crates of Silunes’ finest as a reward! Hey, why aren’t you joining the party?” 

“Because the _Reveler_ ’s not gonna fly herself, Captain,” Poe replied, flicking a few superfluous switches for emphasis. “I’m your interplanetary designated driver.” 

“Good man, Dameron. Good man.” Bax clapped his shoulder a few times before wandering back to the hold, whistling a filthy smuggling song as he went. 

Poe placed a hand on his shoulder, feeling the warmth there. 

He was so fucking screwed.

* 

**Thieves’ Quarter, Kijimi City**

The merrymaking continued planetside, the Spice Runners electing to conserve their valuable winnings from Silunes in favour of patronising a cantina. The Thieves’ Quarter was rife with establishments whose quality ranged from almost acceptable to downright dangerous. The Runners picked a mid-range joint and proceeded to make a sizeable dent in the pile of credits Poe had won on the swoop track. Without the safety of the _Reveler_ and its passengers standing between him and drunken oblivion, Poe got to work playing catch-up. 

“Heeeey, Ace.” Zorii Bliss fell into the booth next to him and threw an arm around his shoulders, her breath sweet with alcohol. “How’s it feel to be the hero of the hour?” 

“I’m always the hero of the hour, Zorii,” Poe answered, reaching out to steal a sip of her drink. 

“Oh yeah?” Zorii snatched back the tin and drained it. “How about when you blew your own cover on Rotye Prime and I had to bail you out?” 

Poe rolled his eyes. “That was _one time_ –” 

“Or when your blaster jammed on our way outta the Ratniss and I had to escort our shipment single-handedly? Or when we were three-down in a Tryst tournament and I was the one who played six winning piles? How about when I successfully pulled off the Denelin deception to triple our stash? Face it, Poe – you might be a decent flyboy, but _I’m_ the hero of the Spice Runners.” 

She was probably right. Zorii Bliss was a brilliant liar and had a better aim than anyone in the crew. Since he joined the Spice Runners eight months ago, Poe had been continually impressed by the woman’s skill. She was fiercely competitive, too, a trait Poe could certainly identify with. Rotye Prime notwithstanding, they made an excellent duo on a mission – when they weren’t jeopardising things in their attempts to one-up each another. 

“Modest too, aren’t ya?” Poe quipped. 

More than anyone in the Runners, her talents impressed Bax. Poe had seen the deep admiration with which their leader watched Zorii work. He had seen, too, the slightly slack-jawed expression that crossed Bax’s face when Zorii bent to retrieve a fallen blaster pistol, or stretched in a way that pulled her plum jumpsuit tight across her chest. He recognised the emotion behind the expression, just as he recognised the feeling that arose in himself in response. 

As if on cue, Bax Weckhart materialised from the shadows by the bar and made his waltzing way over to their booth. He was clearly several drinks beyond walking in a straight line, but his blue eyes were bright as ever, dancing beneath his dark hair. Just looking at his face broke Poe’s heart. “Bliss and Dameron,” he crowed. “My dream team.” He slid into the booth on Zorii’s other side and raised his glass. “To the dream team!” 

“Drinks empty, Captain,” Poe pointed out, tapping Zorii’s tin. 

Their gorgeous leader looked scandalised. “Well what the hell are you still sitting here for, Dameron? And while you’re up, get me a double dry. No – triple dry. And one for Zorii.” He put his hand on her thigh. 

“Actually,” said Zorii, “I’ll have a whiskey. Neat.” For some reason, she suddenly looked as glum as Poe felt.

* 

**Bryx Sector, Mid Rim**  
 **One month later**

The stolen J-class escort starfighter tore through the Bryx Sector in the direction of Kijimi. 

It wasn’t doing well. 

“Poe!” Zorii yelled over the din. Every warning system the starfighter possessed appeared to be alarming simultaneously. Sparks were playing along the ship’s anterior surface, visible even through the grimy viewscreen. “What’s the game here?” 

The starfighter juddered violently, prompting another klaxon whine. “Just hang on!” Poe shouted, tapping the blank diagnostics screen in frustration. “They must have busted our stabilisers on our way out of the sector!” 

“I told you we should’ve stuck to the plan!” 

“If we’d stuck to the plan we’d be stuck on the planet!” Poe argued. “We’re almost there! Just gotta survive re-entry!” 

“This is the last time I’m going along with one of your ridiculous –” 

_Whoomph_. Zorii’s argument disappeared along with the air pressure. Suddenly she couldn’t even draw breath to scream. Pieces of the ship had begun to break off over the wings. The sparks in front of the viewscreen, which was crawling with spider cracks, became small flames. Their fighter had made it into Kijimi’s atmosphere, but it was rapidly becoming clear that it wasn’t going to make it to the ground. 

_Please don’t let me kill my best friend_ , Poe prayed, and hit the emergency eject button.

* 

**Mount Izukika, Kijimi**

Poe couldn’t believe this. They’d infiltrated a Corporation A spaceport, nabbed a hundred thousand credits’ worth of goods, stashed it all on a foreign starfighter, stolen the ship, piloted it off an embargoed planet, and survived a crash-landing – and now they were going to freeze to death in the snow on Kijimi. 

“This… is… fucking… ridiculous,” Zorii muttered, echoing his thoughts. She was shivering so much she could barely spit out the words. 

“We need to – find shelter,” Poe gasped over the howling of the icy wind. Putting one numb, booted foot in front of the other was the hardest thing he had ever done. “Otherwise – we’re toast.” 

“I’m too… fucking cold… to be toast.” 

Poe wanted to laugh, but he worried his lungs would freeze if he opened his mouth too much. He was really beginning to regret his decision to join the Spice Runners. His flying skills could have made him a New Republic pilot, or he could have followed in his parents’ footsteps and joined the fledgling Resistance. Either of those options would have fulfilled his desire for adventure and action without landing him in the middle of a blizzard with a woman of dubious morals in a ridiculous pink jumpsuit. 

_If I survive this,_ he thought, _I’m getting the hell out._

“There!” Zorii croaked, pointing with a shaking finger. “Is that… a cave?” 

“I see it!” Poe shouted. He forced himself to haul his exhausted body towards the spot of black amidst the sea of snow. He felt his strength sapping with every step. Beside him, Zorii groaned and fell to her knees. 

“No,” Poe grunted. If she lay down in the cold, she would never get up. He grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. “Stay with me, Zorii.” 

“Go blast yourself,” Zorii swore, gripping his hand. 

They made it to the cave, which was just wide enough for the two of them to squeeze into together. Though it wasn’t any warmer than the snowscape outside, the shelter from the freezing winds meant Poe could feel his body for the first time since the crash. “Here,” he said, drawing Zorii close. She snuggled into him, the smooth surface of her helmet icy against his cheek. 

“Cracking the tracker now,” Poe told her. He pulled his comm from his belt and removed a thin strip of metal from the casing, activating the emergency beacon inside. Their comms themselves were useless in the snowstorm, but the emergency broadcast would hopefully reach the Spice Runners’ base. 

Otherwise they were well and truly done for. 

“Remind me to tell you something later,” Zorii murmured as her eyes closed.

* 

**Base of the Spice Runners, Kijimi City**  
 **Two days later**

“Captain wants to see you down below,” Pree announced, pausing in the door of the makeshift medbay where Zorii and Poe were recuperating. 

Poe looked at Zorii with a raised eyebrow. She replied with a shrug. Her helmet was off, displaying an impressive graze across the length of her forehead from the crash. Poe knew he didn’t look much better; he’d broken two ribs on landing and it hurt to breathe. It was a miracle neither of them had lost fingers or toes to frostbite. 

As they made their way to the lower level of the base, a memory came to Poe. “What was it you wanted to tell me?” he asked. 

“Huh?” 

“When we were in the cave on the side of the mountain,” Poe explained. “You told me to remind you to tell me something.” 

“Oh.” With her visor gone, it was easy to see the blush that tinged Zorii’s cheeks. “That… It was nothing. Forget about it.” 

Poe snorted. “Yeah, sounds like nothing. Come on.” He halted in the middle of the deserted hallway, looking curiously at his friend. “Tell me.” 

Zorii met his gaze, and for a split second then he thought he knew what it would be. He opened his mouth to stop her, but it was too late. 

“Poe,” Zorii began, “you’re an amazing friend. You saved my life in the mountains; it wasn’t the first time. Ever since you joined up with us, I – it’s been – I’ve really liked having you around.” 

He waited with a sinking feeling that he should never have asked. 

“We’re a lot alike, you and I,” she continued. “And there’s… there’s no-one I’d rather be partnered with than you.” 

“Zorii…” 

“Don’t.” She held up her hand. “Let me finish. I promised myself I’d tell you this.” She took a deep breath, looking more frightened than Poe had ever seen her. If you had asked him a minute before, he would have said Zorii Bliss wasn’t scared of anything. 

“Truth is…” She hesitated for so long he had to physically bite his tongue to stop from breaking the silence. “…I like girls.” 

He blinked. “What?” 

“I like girls!” She glared at him, like she was trying to intimidate him into understanding. “I’m gay. Lesbian. Whatever. I love women.” 

He stared at her for a long moment, and then he burst into laughter. 

A second later she had him pinned against the wall, a gold armband pushing on his throat and a blaster aimed right between his eyes. 

He stopped laughing. 

“So help me, Poe Dameron, if you tell a single soul…” 

“Zorii, Zorii, hey! Calm down!” Poe spluttered. He held up his hands, his face turning red. “I won’t – stars above, can you please – stop choking me so we can – talk about this?” 

She stepped back, her face contorted in such righteous fury that he almost laughed again. 

“Zorii, it’s fine.” Poe took a few deep breaths, wincing as his ribs expanded. “It’s fine,” he reassured her. “Me too.” 

Now it was her turn to look confused. “You… like girls?” 

Poe rolled his eyes, then shook his head, then nodded pointedly as if to say, _You know_. 

“ _Ohh._ ” Zorii glanced up and down the hall, confirming they were alone, before she stepped forward and whispered, “You’re into dudes!” 

“Yeah, I’m ‘into dudes’,” Poe confirmed. “But don’t say anything. Bax definitely isn’t, and the way he looks at you ruins my will to live.” 

Zorii was nodding slowly, as if a whole lot of things were suddenly making sense. “Plus, with the whole ‘First Order preaching a return to Imperial ways’ thing, it’s not exactly the best _lifestyle choice_ to be advertising right now.” They shared a grim look of understanding, before Zorii’s eyes went wide. “Wait a sec,” she said, a wicked grin spreading over her face in a way that struck fear into Poe’s heart. “Did you just say you’ve got a crush on the Captain?”


End file.
